Fifth new streetcar arrives in Portland

United Streetcar has delivered its fifth and final streetcar to Portland under its current contract.

"It was just shipped out," company President Kevin Clarke said Thursday. "We're very pleased to have delivered it."

Portland Streetcar has the option of purchasing a sixth streetcar in the future for less than the current $3.8 million purchase price because of changes in the contract over time.

The new streetcar will undergo about two weeks of testing before being certified and put into service. Clark says it should be carrying paying riders by around Nov. 15.

United Streetcar was formed by Oregon Iron Work after city and Portland Streetcar said they wanted to support American-made streetcars several years ago. At that time, no new domestic streetcars had been built in six decades. Today, United Streetcar has contracts to build streetcars for other cities, too. Clarke says the company has just delivered its second on to Tucson.